Antique silverware: the poetry of a table that tells a story.
Coffee pots, frames, cutlery, candelabras, boxes, devotional objects. Antique silverware is a collection of everyday gestures made precious: the coffee poured on Sundays, the photograph framed on the dresser, the cutlery that has witnessed weddings and christenings. We select authentic, original pieces ready to return to use.
In the bourgeois Italian homes of the past, silverware was not a luxury for display: it was part of family life. It was brought out for Sunday lunch, for special occasions, for important guests, and kept in the living room cabinets as tangible memory of generations. Each piece had its name — grandmother's sugar bowl, the wedding tray, aunt's serving cutlery — and each carried with it a small ritual.
Genova has a historically strong silverware school. The hallmarks of the Genoese Republic and then the Savoy State testify to a local production of the highest quality, which exported objects throughout Italy and Europe. The city's silversmiths worked for the Church, for noble families, for the navy, and produced objects that today live again in the homes of collectors and enthusiasts.
Bringing an antique silver back home does not mean accumulating objects from the past. It means choosing to set the table with something that has already lived, and that retains the nobility of its weight, its patina, its history. It is a conscious gesture, and profoundly current.
Three qualities that the new cannot imitate.
Handcrafted workmanship
Antique silverware was embossed, chiselled and finished by hand by artisans who worked on each piece for hours or days. The precision of the decorations, the thickness of the sheet, the finishing of the edges tell of a level of craftsmanship that contemporary industrial production cannot replicate at accessible costs.
Authentic hallmarks
Every authentic antique silver bears the hallmarks that identify it: alloy title (800/925), silversmith's mark, city mark, any import hallmarks. They are its historical identity card. Knowing how to read them is a craft, and our laboratory does it daily.
Patina of time
The patina is the signature of time on silver: a warm hue that new metal does not possess, and that is obtained only with decades. The most experienced collectors recognize it immediately, and prefer it to the cold splendour of the new. It is one of the most sought-after aesthetic qualities.
What we choose for our collection of antique silverware.
Every silver that enters our collection passes through the Pegli laboratory for a complete check: reading of the hallmarks, analysis of the alloy title (Italian Silver 800, Sterling 925, Vermeil), evaluation of structural integrity. We do not intervene on the piece: we leave it in the state in which it arrived, because we believe that the patina of time is part of its value. If you wish for a cleaning or a small intervention before delivery, we can perform it upon your request.
The types we usually offer include:
- Complete cutlery sets and individual pieces (soup spoons, fish cutlery, dessert cutlery)
- Trays, underplates, stands, centrepieces from the 19th and 20th centuries
- Coffee pots, teapots, milk jugs, sugar bowls and complete tea services
- Chiselled photo frames, powder boxes and jewellery boxes
- Candelabras and candlesticks with one or more arms
- Devotional silverware, ex-votos, liturgical objects of verified provenance
- Sheffield Plate and Old Sheffield (fire-plated from the English school)
Each piece is sold with descriptive sheet which includes title, weight, relevant hallmarks and period of creation. Upon request, we also provide an official signed appraisal, valid for insurance and inheritance purposes. The Cicala warranty of 12 months covers any structural defects not reported at the time of sale.
Do you have a specific request, or would you like to know what we have at the moment?
Our inventory of antique silver is renewed with each new acquisition and succession. For complete services, rare pieces or specific requests on a type or era, the quickest way to find out what we have is to write to us. Often we can offer pieces not yet published, or search for what you desire among our industry contacts.
